The Sky's the Limit - 1957 Ford Thunderbird

Part III: Putting the finishing touches on a prize-winning 1957 Ford Thunderbird

Feature Article from Hemmings Classic Car

Automobiles are complicated things, and their restorations rarely, if ever, go exactly as planned. Sometimes, what distinguishes one restoration from another lies not simply in making sure that everything goes exactly right the first time, but in determining how to react when adversity comes knocking.

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That was certainly the case for Dick Stewart of Shrewsbury, Massachusetts, who recovered from one shop's bungled attempt to restore his cherished 1957 Ford Thunderbird by retrieving his car and entrusting it to the talented hands of Whitehall Auto Sales. Even though he had to write the first shop an $8,000 check for work that had never been done, it turned out to be an excellent decision, as evidenced by the unsurpassed quality of Whitehall's work.
You might think that after enduring more than his share of heartache before hiring Whitehall, Dick would have been in line for a serious run of good luck. But there was to be one heart-stopping moment as the restoration headed into the home stretch--one that provided a test of Whitehall's abilities.
The Thunderbird's 312-cu.in. V-8 had been rebuilt by a local shop, and things were sailing along nicely, with the engine reinstalled in the chassis and the body lowered into place. But when the engine was started for the first time, it produced such a horrible clatter that Tom White, Whitehall's owner, pulled the coil wire to shut it down instantly. When another effort was made to turn the engine over, it locked up.
What to do? Tom called the owner of the engine shop, who came over to have a look. There was no other choice but to tear the engine down, he advised. Yes, the V-8 had already been given a show-quality restoration of its own, and the work would pose a serious risk to the car's flawless new Flame Red paintwork, but there was nothing else to be done, he said.
Instead of reaching for a wrench, Tom stopped to think. He realized that something was blocking a piston from reaching the end of its travel--but which piston? Raising the car on the lift and dropping the oil pan revealed that two pistons were at the tops of their bores. He began with #1, removing its 8mm spark plug to poke around inside, and found something jammed between the piston and the head. Jarred loose with a long-handled screwdriver, it turned out to be the remains of a washer that had gotten sucked into the cylinder. Although the engine shop would take no responsibility, there's no doubt in Tom's mind how the washer came to be there.
Thanks to the non-invasive surgery, what could have been a major detour turned into a mere bump in the road, saving Dick countless dollars and allowing him to have the car ready for its first showing at the Newport Concours d'Elegance in Newport, Rhode Island--where it was chosen as best in its class and won the People's Choice award.
The car has since gone on to win its Junior and Senior awards from the AACA, as well as a best in class at our inaugural Hemmings New England Concours d'Elegance at the Stratton Mountain Resort in Vermont last summer.
For concours-quality restorations, Tom has a simple rule: "Nothing is used as it is. Everything comes apart." It's time-consuming work; when they were finished, Tom, his sons Tommy and Larry, and daughter-in-law Taunya Kluth had put 2,140 hours into the restoration--that's the equivalent of a year of full-time work for one person. And that doesn't count the time that Dick put in, dropping by to bead-blast parts and help with reassembly.
Whitehall is somewhat unusual among restoration shops in that nearly all of the work is done on-site, from metalwork and painting to upholstery and instrument repair. Whitehall has extensive experience with early Thunderbirds, as well as a substantial stock of NOS and good used parts; that, combined with the ready availability of reproduction parts for these cars, helped to simplify the project. In this third and final installment of our story, we take a look at the interior and final assembly work that have contributed to the car's success.
SourceWhitehall Auto Sales
508-435-3442
Hopkinton, Massachusetts
PHOTO 1
Once the steering wheel was removed, the body was carefully lowered onto the frame. Note that the exhaust system is held to the frame with straps at this point; it will later be adjusted to align with the openings in the rear bumper.
PHOTO 2
With body and frame reunited, the first step was to install the U-shaped bracket, just visible in gray, that supports the body from the windshield forward. The hood hinges have been covered in tape to prevent them from damaging the perfect paintwork.
PHOTO 3
The doors were installed and adjusted, and the body shimmed to provide perfect gaps. Shims were stacked on each pad before the body was lowered onto the frame, then removed where necessary, to achieve a perfect fit between the doors and the body.
PHOTO 4
All gauges were restored for perfect appearance and operation, and reinstalled while the dashboard was on the workbench. The dash pad is a reproduction part that was originally blue, and was recolored by Whitehall with a custom-tinted, water-based vinyl dye.
PHOTO 5
The wiring, heater cables and speedometer cable were installed while the dashboard was out of the car. Although the wiring harness was an older, Ford-made restoration part intended for a 1957 Thunderbird, it still had a flaw that had to be corrected.
PHOTO 6
The wiring and ventilation ducts have been pulled through the firewall in preparation for the installation of the dashboard. Note that the main wiring harness runs down the driveshaft tunnel, not the rockers. A towel protects the steering column.
PHOTO 7
Dashboard installation is a two-person operation. The dashboard had to be bowed in slightly to clear the tops of the doglegs, and the padding trimmed ever so slightly to clear. This step must come before the installation of the new windshield.
PHOTO 8
Synthetic jute padding was installed next. This step preceded the connecting of the dashboard's wiring and cables, to make the work easier on the restorer's back.
PHOTO 9
When first started, the engine made an alarming noise and was immediately shut down. A washer was discovered in one of the cylinders; it was removed through the spark plug hole with a magnet and long screwdriver. The rebuilder admitted no fault.
PHOTO 10
The windshield was installed with a reproduction rubber gasket. The popularity of the 1955-'57 Thunderbirds means that there's an abundant supply of reproduction parts; Whitehall quickly found a new windshield with a single call to a local glass supplier.
PHOTO 11
Only after the V-8 was in good running condition was the hood bolted on--another two-person operation. Note that the brightwork around the windshield has been reinstalled, and that work has begun on the convertible top.
PHOTO 12
When reproduction seat foams turned out to be a bad fit, the crew at Whitehall made their own, contouring foam blocks with a dual-action sander. An upholstery kit, ordered from Concours Parts of Carson City, Nevada, was a straightforward installation.
PHOTO 13
A new top in stayfast canvas was ordered from Electron Top of Richmond Hill, New York. The first step in getting a perfect result was to adjust the top frame to fit against the window frame; doing this after the canvas is attached results in wrinkles and sags.
PHOTO 14
The most common mistake in installing tops is to start with the back rear corner, Tom White says; installation must start at the lower forward corners of the top, in this case directly above the door handle. Here, Tom tacks down the rear corners to finish the job.
PHOTO 15
Final steps included the installation of weatherstripping. Because new, uncompressed seals can make the doors hard to shut, Whitehall grinds up to a quarter-inch off the back of the material, carefully feeding the rubber against a grinding wheel.
PHOTO 16
Then it's off to one last visit to the lift, to make certain that all of the fasteners are correctly tightened. Note that the lift's rubber pads have been covered with folded-over terrycloth towels to protect the finish of the frame; no one wants a scratch at this point.
Owner's View
Dick Stewart was in high school when he paid $2,795 for the Thunderbird in January 1961, working at two jobs to pay off the loan his mother had co-signed for. Prior to its restoration, "the last time I drove it was 1968," Dick said. "I moved from time to time, and I had garages to store it in." He also turned down countless offers for the car. "I said, 'Someday I'll get it going again,' never knowing that I would undertake the kind of restoration it's had.
"The only thing is, I'm kind of afraid to drive it right now because it's still so fresh," Dick said. "Will I ever drive it on the road? I probably will. I don't have the wherewithal to start a museum. I'll probably drive it someday, but will I ever sell it? No. It will go to my grandchildren." In his limited time behind the wheel, he's been glad that he chose to add power steering and power brakes to the car, two options it lacked.
As a result of his unpleasant experience with the first restoration shop, Dick encourages other enthusiasts to do a thorough investigation before signing a contract, and to not simply assume that a lengthy waiting list means quality work. "I became highly educated, and now I'm very critical looking at cars. It was a tremendous education with the whole family, the details they go through to make it original," he said.
He had nothing but praise for Whitehall. "I couldn't be happier with the outcome of the work they did. We struck up a nice relationship, a family relationship, with them. I feel like I'm part of the family."

This article originally appeared in the November, 2008 issue of Hemmings Classic Car.